‘MADE IN USA’ RULES STIR DEBATE ON LABELS

Local businessman, lawmaker want state law to be consistent with federal regulations

SACRAMENTO - Frustrated Carlsbad entrepreneur Rio Sabadicci cannot sell his Vinturi wine aerator in California if it carries a “Made in USA” label even though his popular invention is assembled in a Pomona plant and consists of just one import — a small decorative band from China.

That’s because California law prohibits companies from making “Made in USA” claims on labels unless each and every part comes from the United States. In contrast, the other 49 states follow a more lenient — and more ambiguous — federal law that permits some outsourcing as long as “virtually all” of the product is of U.S. origin, according to a Federal Trade Commission advisory.

“It goes beyond just my product,” Sabadicci said in an interview. “It just strikes me as something that doesn’t make any sense at all.”

Assemblyman Brian Jones, R-Santee, agrees. He is carrying legislation that would conform California’s labeling law with federal rules.

Early unanimous victories in the Assembly have disguised the challenges ahead for Jones’ bill. Trial lawyers and a consumer group have since raised objections, foreshadowing an uncertain future for Assembly Bill 858.

It’s a high-stakes confrontation. Many companies are seeking sales in today’s global and highly competitive markets. A “Made in USA” label can provide an edge as long as the products are competitively priced and of similar quality.

“The label denotes we are creating jobs in this country. We are helping the national economy. It denotes better quality,” Sabadicci said.

He is not alone in the quest. Anthony Maglica, founder of the Maglite flashlight brand based in Ontario, has joined the cause. Maglites, put together with just a “small percentage” of imported parts, cannot carry the label in California although it can in other states, according to Maglica.

“Consumers will never know that I employ hundreds of U.S. workers,” Maglica wrote in a column published in the San Bernardino Sun that detailed his commitment to staying in California despite higher costs.

“The passage of this bill would finally level the playing field between California manufacturers and those in the rest of the country that can claim the ‘Made in the USA’ mantle and the marketing advantage that comes with the moniker,” he wrote.

(Companies based in other states that sell goods here must comply with California’s tougher labeling standard.)

A leading California consumer advocate believes the tougher standards should be left alone.

The labels are “beneficial to consumers who care where their products are made to have truthful information when determining what to buy,” Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California, said in an interview. “The federal law is weaker, so we are better off not changing a good standard.”

The legislation to amend California’s standards breezed through the Assembly last year without a single “no” vote. But its march to the governor’s desk slowed in the Senate Judiciary Committee following opposition from the Consumer Attorneys of California.

“While the federal law uses terms such as ‘virtually all,’ the California law provides a bright-line test. Consumers know they have a label law with clear meaning,” John Montevideo, the group’s president, wrote in a letter of opposition to the committee.